1. Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure of invention relates to a method of driving a display panel and to a display apparatus performing the method. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method of driving a display panel while reducing heat generated by the display apparatus and while improving image quality, and to a display apparatus performing the method.
2. Description of Related Technology
In general, a typical liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus (whose display panel is mounted in a here-called, “normal” mounting mode) is driven via a from-the-top driving method. In the from-the-top driving method, a gate lines driving part is typically disposed at a left side of a frontally faced LCD panel displaying a normal-mount image which is not reversed (and which normal-mount image has its pixels typically refreshed hierarchically, first in left to right fashion per row, and then top to bottom, row by row), and a data lines driving part and a timing control part transferring a signal to the gate lines driving part, where the data lines driving part is disposed at a top side of the LCD panel.
In the from-the-top driving method, the data lines driving part sequentially latches data signals to data line driving circuits in a left to right order, and the gate lines driving part sequentially transfers gate signals to gate lines in a top side of the LCD panel to a lower side of the LCD panel order. (In other words, the conventional normal image frame refreshing method is hierarchically provided, first as left to right per row refreshing, and then top row to bottom row refreshing.)
However, in a conventional clam-shell style laptop computer, where the bottom side of the display is flexibly attached (e.g., via a flexible printed circuit cable) to the top of a housing containing a CPU and/or keyboard and/or other user interface mechanism, the power sourcing and control signals sourcing circuits are typically housed in the CPU/keyboard/other housing, and thus, the correspondingly sourced power signals, data signals and control signals are conveyed from the housing and to the timing control part of the LCD panel by first passing through the lower side of the LCD panel due to the specific structure and to the wiring configuration of the conventional clam-shell style laptop computer. When the power, the data and the control signals are so transferred from the lower side of the LCD panel to the timing control part, where the latter is disposed at the top side of the LCD panel, conductor lines (e.g., flexible printed circuit conductor wires) that are used for transferring the power, data and control signals are lengthened by the extra traversal of the conductor lines from the lower to the upper part of the display panel. Such extra lengthening of the conductor lines tends to increase resistance as well as capacitive and inductive signal couplings, and thus problems such as I2R losses, noise, crosstalk and other forms of electromagnetic interference tend to occur.
Therefore, it has been recently proposed that the flat panel displays of laptop computers, television sets and the like should be structured to have an inverted mount configuration and should be driven via a from-lower side driving method thus reducing the relative amount of generated heat compared to the from-the-top driving method and/or reducing electromagnetic interference problems.
In the proposed, from-lower side driving method, gate line driving circuits are sequentially driven in shift register style by passing a carry signal from a first gate lines driving circuit disposed at the top side of the LCD panel (per how the user views the inverted-mounted LCD panel) to a last gate lines driving circuit disposed at the lower side of the LCD panel. Thus, the timing control part disposed at the lower side of the from-lower side driven LCD panel nonetheless needs to convey a gate start signal (STV) to the first gate lines driving circuit disposed at a top side of the LCD panel and the gate start conveying wire is lengthened.
Accordingly, in typically structured system that uses the from-the-lower side driving method, a length of a gate start signal line that transfers the gate start signal is longer than the length of the gate start signal line used in the more-conventional from-the-top driving method. Accordingly, a load of the gate start signal line increases due to the relatively longer gate start signal line, and thus image quality of the LCD apparatus may be decreased as a result.
Another problem is that some flat panel display manufacturers may want the option of mounting their display panels according to either of the two methods, namely, according to the from-the-top driving method, or according to the from-lower side driving method. Keeping an inventory of drive electronics for both options can be problematic.
It is to be understood that this background of the technology section is intended to provide useful background for understanding the here disclosed technology and as such, the technology background section may include ideas, concepts or recognitions that are not part of what is known or appreciated by those skilled in the pertinent art prior to corresponding invention dates of subject matter disclosed here-in.